Eagles and Swans

 
Last week one day while walking our little dog Jack by our neighborhood duck pond, I was surprised to see a bald eagle.  He had made an appearance a few days before, ...but I couldn't convince my husband that I had really seen an eagle that close to where we live.

I ran back to the house and grabbed my trusty little Nikon, wishing that I had placed an order for that ultra sweet camera that Gary had decided would be our Christmas present to each other.  (Last year's Christmas present, in case you wondered!!)

The eagle didn't stay around very long.  Even though the picture did prove to my husband there really had been an eagle by our pond, we have not sighted it again.

However, there has been a swan that is very willing to pose for my camera, and has seemed eager for my attention.  One day he circled round and around, coming closer and closer to where I stood on the bank of the pond.

He put on a pretty good show for me.  He seemed  to be watching me to see if I was enjoying it -  which, of course, I was!

I wondered if he was the mate to the one that flew into the transformer on the electric pole a few months ago.  That little incident had not only cost the swan its    life; it knocked off our electricity for about 5 hours!

 After 6 or 7 minutes, he quit putting on a show, and went back to his usual business of eating, ducking his head under water, and bringing up strands of vegetation.

Watching these beautiful creatures reminded me of some verses from
Isaiah 40:28-31:

"Have you never heard?
Have you never understood?
The LORD is the everlasting God,
The Creator of all the earth.
He never grows weak or weary.
No one can measure the depths of His understanding.
He gives power to the weak
and strength to the powerless.
Even youths will become weak and tired,
and young men will fall in exhaustion.
But those who trust in the LORD will find new strength.
They will soar high on wings like eagles.
They will run and not grow weary.
They will walk and not faint."

Linking with Tracy for Winsome Wednesdays,

with Laura for Brag on God Fridays,

and with Charlotte for Spiritual Sundays.

Check out any of the above for blogs to inspire!

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Thanks for dropping by!

Snow flowers and Lies

This is a "Snow Flower";
I'm not sure of its botanical name.
"Old-timers" say that when this flower is in bloom,
we will get our last snow of the season.
It surprised me to see its little petals today.

...So, I've been observing this little flower for several years,
watching for its lily white blossoms to poke out of the leaves,
...or the snow.
...And so far, I haven't known it to lie.

However, I did become aware of a lie today -
a lie that I have listened to for a long time.
Whether it was a lie from the devil,
or a lie that I had conjured up in my own mind,
and made myself believe,
I don't know.

Okay, are you curious what the lie was?
The LIE was,
that sometimes I have to eat
high carb crunchy food to satisfy my cravings.
The TRUTH is,
it never does!
It's like my mouth is never satisfied,
even though my belly may be full.


Isaiah 55:2 says,
"Why do  you spend money for what is not bread,
and your wages for what does not satisfy? 
Listen carefully to Me, and eat what is good,
And let your soul delight itself in abundance."


Joel 2:26 says,
"You shall eat in plenty and be satisfied,
And praise the name of the LORD your God,
Who has dealt wondrously with you;
And My people shall never be put to shame."

So, guess what?
Although I thought I wanted more crunchy carbs,
I didn't listen to that lie!
Instead I fixed myself a healthy salad,
putting lots of crunchy celery and fresh peppers
onto a crisp bed of romaine lettuce.
...AND SURPRISE!!!!
I am praising the LORD,
because He did just what it says in the verse above.
I ate and WAS SATISFIED!

Whether the snow flowers will tell the truth or not this year,
I have no idea.
But I pray that God helps me keep my senses alert,
to deliver me from the trap of LIES!




Linking with Laura for Brag on God Friday.
To see my Names of God on Rocks blog, click here!

Is it really possible to have JOY in the Mourning?

(This is really a follow up on an article on JOY from my Names of God on Rocks blog posted yesterday in  Rock4Today.)

At the time I wrote the book Joy in the Mourning, I was often struggling to find that JOY!  There would be moments of JOY which would sometimes come bursting in at the most unexpected times.  I wouldn't know whether to enjoy the moment or to feel guilty for having this JOY in the midst of my grief, because it almost seemed inappropriate!




I think my little sister Phyllis spoke with much wisdom when during one of these times of JOY she said to me, "I don't think you can really appreciate JOY until you have known the depths of sorrow!"

Possibly that's what David was thinking when he wrote in the Psalms, "Weeping may endure for a night, but JOY comes in the morning."

To me, that unexpected joy may be triggered by a small thing, like a call from a friend, a smile from a child, a beautiful sun rise, the song of a bird, ...or just a good cup of coffee!

At other times, like my daughter Sarah wrote in Choosing Your Feelings, you have to pursue joy, chase it down and make it your own.  (Click on above link and scroll to end to read Sarah's brief book.)

My counsellor friends from Ozark Family Ministry say it this way, "You can't choose your feelings, but you can change your thoughts, and your thoughts can change your feelings."

If you are needing a little JOY in your life today, "May God, the source of hope, fill you with JOY and peace through your faith in Him.  Then you will overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit."  (Romans 15;13 from Names of God Bible)


Linking with Winsome Wednesdays, Brag on God Fridays, and Spiritual Sundays!

The Power of Baby Babble

Have you ever wondered if babies know what they are saying?

Well, I was wondering about that when I read a most

interesting Scripture verse this morning.

In Matthew 11:25-26 it says God has hidden things

from the wise and learned people,

and has revealed them to little children for His pleasure!

But here is the real clincher - Psalm 8:2 says,

"From the lips of children and infants

You have ordained praise

because of Your enemies,

to silence the foe and the avenger."

Okay, I get this picture in my mind of babies

speaking a heavenly language.

We think of it as merely "Baby Babble",

and we work at teaching them to speak our language,

stripping the heavenly babble from their little mouths!

In doing so, we think we are doing them a great service,

not realizing that we may be stripping away

some of our own protection from the enemy

that was brought about by their praise!

So, what is the answer?

I think the answer is PRAISE as stated in Psalm 8:2 above.

If we teach our children the language of PRAISE,

they will not lose the power to defeat the enemy!

The song in the video below portrays that thought well.

Click here to see my current Name of God post on Rock4Today.

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New Cabinets and New Snowfall!

This is what my kitchen looks like this morning!

We are in the process of getting our kitchen cabinets refurbished,

...or is the right word resurfaced?

Company is on the way,

...should be here tonight,

...could be interesting.

Good chance to eat out!!!

An early morning light snow brought a flurry of activity at my bird feeders.

Some birds had to settle for seeds that had scattered at the base of the tree.

The bright red cardinal against the fresh white snow

reminds me of a verse from Isaiah 1:18 that says,

"Though your sins are like scarlet,

 I will make them as white as snow.

 Though they are red like crimson,

I will make them as white as wool."

Check out my Names for God on Rocks at Rock4Today!



God's Hall of Honor

Several weeks ago my husband Gary had the privilege of being inducted into the
HALL of HONOR
at his alma mater of St. Joe High School.

Although it had been years since his spectacular performance
on the St. Joe Junior boys basketball team,
he, along with his team-mates,
 were given the distinction of being inducted into the
 HALL of HONOR.

When I placed his momento on the top shelf of our bookcase
beside some of the other awards he has won,
it got me thinking about God's HALL of HONOR.

The HALL of HONOR that I'm referring to is God's Hall of Fame

as mentioned in Hebrew Chapter Eleven,

probably better known as the HALL of FAITH!

Okay, I'm just going to be honest here.

When I was reading this morning from Genesis 12:11-20,

I felt rather perturbed that God would include Abraham in this list!

It made me really angry that Abraham did not even try to protect his wife.

Knowing that he did this again only a short time later,

further intensified my frustrations.

If anybody should have been inducted into this

HALL of FAME,

it seemed like it should have been his wife.

According to the Apostle Peter,

Sarah put her faith in God to take care of her

when her husband did not provide that protection.

BUT then I was reminded of the Scripture that says,

we are not saved by the good acts that we have done,

but by the mercy and new birth given us by God.

God no longer saw Abraham's shortcomings.

Although Abraham died before Christ was born,

God saw him pure because of the purifying blood of Christ.

He saw Abraham's faith and honored him for it.

And then I noticed...

God did honor Sarah afterall!

She, too, was mentioned in God's Hall of Faith.

(To read any of the Scriptures mentioned, simply click on the highlighted link.)

To view Names for God on rocks, click on Rock4Today!

Linking with Jenny Matlock for the letter "H";

also linking with Winsome Wednesdays, Brag on God Fridays, 

and Spiritual Sundays. 

The Sound of God's footsteps

This morning as I was reading my Bible, 

I came across a phrase that had caught my attention in the past.

Now here it was again, stirring my curiosity anew.

It was from Genesis 3:8 where it talks about Adam and Eve hearing

 "the sound of the LORD walking"

in the garden in the cool of the day.

I have a pretty active imagination,

...so I turned it lose!

These are some of the thoughts I had:

Was it the sound of heavy footsteps because He was upset with them

for eating from the forbidden tree of life?

Was it the sound of leaves rustling from His presence as He passed by?

Could they see Him as they peaked through the leaves in their hiding place?

Was He in a visible form?

Was it the booming sound of thunder,

such as I imagine Moses and the Children of Israel 

heard when they gathered at the base of Mount Sinai,

and He gave them the Ten Commandments?

Or did He long for them to run toward Him instead of running away from Him?

Was it the sound of the voice of the LORD as mentioned in Zephaniah 3:17?

"The LORD your God is with you,

He is mighty to save.

He will take great delight in you,

He will quiet you with His love,

He will rejoice over you with singing."

I want my ears to be open to the sounds of God today,

whether it's the singing of the birds outside,

the wind as it tugs on the corners of my house,

the laughter that bubbles out of the mouths of my family,

...or when He speaks to me with a "still small voice" in my heart.

To visit my Names for God on my Rock4Today blog, click here!

Linking with Winsome Wednesdays, Brag on God Fridays, and Spiritual Sundays.